In typical fashion, almost a year has passed since my last blog posting. It seems like whenever I make an effort to return to Lolita, and focus on my label or blog, life just cranks up the crazy meter!

In addition to moving to Maryland and joining the Charm City Lolitas comm, a new member has joined my family. This winter I gave birth to my first child, a baby girl named Willow.

She is perfect in every way! However, she does keep me very busy.

Though she's still very little, I already ordered her first kid-sized Lolita dresses. I hope that someday she looks on them fondly and wants to dress up with me, but if she dislikes it, even that is okay with me.

Though the birth of baby Willow is definitely something to be highlighted, that is not the reson I'm posting today.

But now I want to revisit, and see... was it? Let's take a look at some of the goals I set for myself.

In 2016, I wanted to...

Improve my wardrobe

I'll say, I definitely improved my wardrobe this year. Not only did I add a lot of mains that were on my wishlist, but I seriously fleshed out my collection of accessories, blouses, bags, boleros and things like that. My goal was to purchase less main pieces, and instead invest in things that could change up the look and improve versatility of what I already have.

I dare say, I managed to do both. Soon, I'll post my 2016 Wardrobe post, and you can see for yourself.

Be more active in the community online, and in-person

My success rate on this was fifty-fifty. I certainly attended more meets this year, but did not stick to my blog as I promised myself I would. In the coming year I would like to be more regular with my blog postings, and interact more with other Lolis by reading and commenting on their blogs.

Yeah, well, see above. I suppose I'll write this off as a 2017 goal as well.

Attend more meet-ups

Check, check, and check! I definitely attended more meet-ups this year, at least monthly. I also think I dressed up in Lolita more this year, than ever before.

It took a lot of effort, to get outside of my comfort zone and meet the new Lolitas in my area. I made it a goal to meet at least one new person every time. And for the most part, I think I was successful!

I am happy to say that I left my comfort zone this year, and made some meaningful connections because of it.

Host or help plan a meet-up

Check! I planned and hosted my own meetup in July, at a local tea house. I also designed and printed my own raffle tickets, donated some prizes from my label for the raffle, and had some prizes donated from local lolitas as well.

I'm really glad we got to visit this teahouse, Tea on the Tiber. Not long after this meetup, most of their property was destroyed by a flash flood. They have yet to reopen their doors. They were an iconic and unique highlight of Historic Ellicott City and I'm sure their triumphant return is anticipated by many.

I also managed to set up a Karaoke meetup, even though it was much less smooth, and only a few Lolitas came! I took it as a learning experience though. Let's face it: sometimes the hours of operation on a business' site will be incorrect.

We still managed to find another karaoke place as a back-up, and we still had fun!

Travel and visit different comms, to meet all different kinds of Lolitas

Though I didn't get to travel as much as I wanted, mostly due to being pregnant most of this year... I am very glad I got to meet and connect with the Lolitas here. They are so kind, and I am very happy in my new comm!

I think it's been a great year for Lolita! I'm looking forward to 2017 and setting new goals for myself. I will think about it a little and write about it in a future post! In the mean time, thank you for your continued readership and support. I hope to get to know each of you and your individual blogs as well!